Three-dimensional (3D) scanning technologies use image capture devices to scan a real world object and reproduce the object either on a display or as a real world object replica using 3D printing techniques. A key obstacle to widespread adoption of object scanning is that there are still many objects that do not produce an accurate reproduction when scanned by current technologies. There are a variety of reasons why a particular object may not reproduce accurately when scanned, including for example specularity, reflectivity, surface textures, surface concavities, etc.
This problem is compounded by the fact that conventional scanners do not alert the user when a target object cannot be scanned. By not knowing whether an object is “scanable” or not, the user often invests a significant amount of time in a scanning process that will ultimately fail. Post-processing of scan data can take up to an hour or two to return the scanned replica, with the user not being made aware that it will not succeed until the post-processing step is completed.